Chapter XIV.In C,onclusion

I, the writer, have tried to share with you, the reader, the story of my belovedMan-O-War. All of my life has been lived here in the Settlement. The longest time Ihave spent away from my island is three weeks and that was only within the last tenyears. In 1968 Mary and I went to England to visit the land from which my peoplecame over two centuries ago. It was also the country to which my first loyalty wasgiven and it too is an island.

How many people have written, sung, and talked about getting away from thehustle and bustle of life in the city. To find a quiet spot in the country or an islandin the sea is part of all of our dreams. To me it has been a reality. I used to singabout it as a student in our Man-O-War school, and we still do.

If I had a hundred golden poundsI would leave the great City's roarAnd I'd buy a little country houseWith a shining stream at my doorIn the country-side I would settle downFar from all the din of the buw townAnd a happy life I'd lead thereAnd a happy life I'd lead.

The fife of our first islanders was a hard one. The daily tasks done or left undonemeant survival or starvation. Fish were caught to eat at the next meal and theleft-overs if there were any were salted to preserve them for our future needs. Thebeaches were combed for planks, spern, amberglis, rope, and rubber.

Coral hillsides were cleared for farming. Trees were cut down and sawed intoplanks for boats and boards for our homes. Palm fronds were cut for roofthatching. Fresh water only came as rain; so pits were dug into the coral rock bedfor cisterns and in our cemetery on the northeastern shore for our loved ones'graves.

Now rnany come to our island for relaxation, for a short change from the usualroutine of life at home on the mainlands, and a few have come to stay with us.

I watch our visitors walk along the Sea Road and The Queen's Highwaystopping to see the ship builders, sail-makers, craw fishermen, carpenters, shell

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Mon-O-Ilar: My Island Home

crafters, shop keepers and the boat skippers at their work. I think theylook because of the craftnanship. It isn't how many nails we put in anhow well they are put in.

Papa had a saying, one which I'm sure is a familiar one: "Whateverdoing is worth doing well." I remember it very well. As a boy I was doingbut anxious to get to the next exciting adventure, and I was putting puttysunken nail heads in a dinghy with little care, hoping to be off and away.came by, saw my sloppy job, and started me over by saying the statement

Industry and craftsmanship have been part of our island heritage, one ofwe are very proud. It could be seen in the early years in the lines of asculler's oar, the carved handle of a kitchen pot, or a rocking chair for theCraftsmanship is still a by-word today as we build our homes and housesAmericans and others who come to rent or to stav with us. The skillshipyard managers and workers is evidenced in the boats which come tohauling and repairs, the Albury ferries built here in our ship ways, the diour renowned racing boat, Rough Waters.

Our visitors from afar and even our neighbors on the other islands havetts many things, maybe too many. We now have and enjoy a betterliving. We do feel that there are certain things we have cherished over themay lose, As a teacher, when I see sleepy-eyed children at 9:00 a.m.inmyroom,I am sure they watched a late T.V. show the night before.

When Uncle Norman looked for the meat grinder as a boy his only obswere natural ones. Today with golf carts, motor bikes, big and little btrucks, and jeeps, one has to be alert so as not to be hit by a wheeled vehihave no policeman to direct traffic or to represent higher authority on ourWe have always been able to settle our disputes internally. I hope we canto do so.

We want tourists to visit us. I would be foolish if I was not appreciative ofbenefits our island economy has had from tourism. We want them to feel partour life and at home on our island. But I and my family, immediate and iwide, have a love for Man-O-War ingrained in us and I guess we are protectiveshores, trees, homes, churches, harbours, school and way of life.

My great, great, great, geat, great grandfather and grandmother welpeople to a shallow but protected harbour and a few thatched roof homes.eady visitors were ship-wrecked sailors, spongers or fishermen. The fare wasfish cooked over an open fire, bread baked in an outdoor oven, soldier crabs,beef and maybe turtles' eggs.

Uncle Will welcomed the first Americans, Skipper Robinson and Ted Zickes,Man-O-lVar over forty years ago and he continued to welcome many more overyears. Uncle Will's spirit of helpfulness, his sense of fair play and unselfishpervaded every part of our way of life through the middle of this century. Natcountless other islanders, men, women, and children contributed toMan-O-War the island we know and love today. I was excited when I first beganwrite this book. Perhaps in some way I could catch the spirit of my island home,and my family's island and their family's so that others might learn of it.

t46

In Conclusion

This book is a written history but most of its source material was oral. It is asMamma Nellie told her children, who told their children, and so on down. Over thepast few years as I have been writing about our island I have learned so much fromMama and Uncle Norman.

I hope too I have conveyed to you my appreciation of my heritage and maybeyou will wish to tell your children so that they can tell their children about thisisland just to the northeast of Abaco in the Bahamas.

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